Our journeys through cemeteries locally and not so locally.
A Member of the Associate of Graveyard Rabbits.

Of course, the vast majority of my blog is dedicated to the work that my daughter and I do discovering local cemeteries and photographing them, but I know that there are many, many more out there in the world that I will probably never get to see. Because of this, I would hate for something to be missed or forgotten.

Therefore, I will gladly take submissions from my readers! Please just fill out the form below or if you prefer to, email me here. I will do my best to make sure everyone gets a place here. I do, however, request that all photos that are submitted are yours and yours alone. I can not accept photos that are taken from the other sources without permission. All photos that are submitted, along with any information, will be credited to the source and an email address will be linked for further questions or information. If this is a problem, please, PLEASE, let me know.

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About Me

Amber

Hi, I'm Amber. I'm a busy mom with a variety of interests including writing, crafting, cemeteries and history. Come with me on my journey.

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Hello everyone! Sorry it's been so long. I haven't had a chance to get out and about due to my health and difficulty with transportation.

Today's Walk Through the Tombstones is at the Clark Family Cemetery in Mitchell, Lawrence County, Indiana. I got lucky and had a friend of mine grab some pictures while he was mushroom hunting with some friends.

This cemetery is on private property and my friend had permission to be there while mushroom hunting. Please remember, always get permission to be there. This cemetery is small and fenced off. It appears to be taken care of, probably by the people that own the property, though the stones need to be cleaned and they do need some care.

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Our first stop is at the grave of Stephen Clark.

Born: January 10, 1840 in Lawrence County, Indiana
Died: September 1867 in Jackson County, Indiana

He was the son of William Aaron Clark (1791-1869) and Rebecca Bales Clark (1796-1872). They are both buried in this cemetery nearby.

He was married to Henrietta Hunter-Clark Ramsey (1841-1891) on February 13, 1859. She is buried in Mundell Church Cemetery in Heltonville, Lawrence County, Indiana. She remarried after the death of her husband.

He was hanged near Mooney, Indiana (now Clearspring) in 1867. I did find a reference to Stephan Clark having died from being hanged in Clear Spring, Indiana. An excerpt from a book titled, "History of Jackson County, Indiana: From the Earliest Time to the Present" that talks about this incident. This book is free to view on Google Books and was published in 1886.

"Twenty years or more ago, at the beginning of what is known as the "reign of terror", or the "Dark days" of Jackson County, a man by the name of Clarke, who was known to be a thief and a desperado, was hung by a mob near the western border of Owen Township.Clarke had been accused of many crimes, but the one which incited the citizens to action on this occasion was the burglarizing of a store at Houston. The accused made his escape into Illinois, but after a brief absence returned to his mother's home, near the eastern border of Lawrence County, where he was arrested by the constable of Owen Township, The officer started with the prisoner to Clear Spring, but soon after they had crossed the line dividing the two counties, and a few yards north of the present site of Mr. C Fishe's residence, they were intercepted by a mob of masked men, supposed to be a division of the organization known as the Regulators. The prisoner was taken from the officer and hung to the branch of a beech tree, which stills stands to mark the spot. The body was left hanging till the next day, when it was cut down by the coroner, and after the inquest was given to the mother of the deceased, and by her was buried in the old family cemetery."

They had three children, but I have only found one listed so far:Laura Clark Humston (1861-1937) - buried in Gilgal Cemetery, Heltonville, Lawrence County, Indiana.

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Next we have the grave of Rebecca Bales Clark.

Born: October 13, 1796, Kentucky
Died: June 30, 1872

She was the daughter of James Bales (?-?) and Rebecca Braken Bales (?-?). I am unsure as to where they are buried.

She probably had siblings, but as of yet, I haven't found any mention of any.

She had died in childbirth, but the child survived. They had one daughter:Charlotte Dougless (1852-?) - burial unknown, though her father took her to Wayne County, Iowa after her mother's death. The death date for her mother does not match the birth date, so not sure about the dates.

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According to records, William Aaron Clark and Rebecca Bales Clark settled in Pleasant Run Township very early into the county's history. They are listed as one of the first of twenty three land entries around 1820. One of the more popular distilleries in the county belonged to the Clark's and was frequented by many people in the township. They would bring their brown clay jug to get whiskey, which was considered very important.
I have also found, while researching this family, that David and William Clark, brothers and sons of William and Rebecca, were stabbed to death by three "known adversaries". I haven't found much in the way of information about them or their deaths.

I also have found reference in at least two places that Rebecca was a Cherokee Indian. I am not real sure about the validity of this statement, but after speaking with a resident of the area and hearing a story about some Indians in the the area stealing a bunch of money from residents and then burying it nearby. It is unknown how true this story is but it goes with the Indian information that I have found so far. Granted, it is all speculation.